Free Criminal Searches are gaining popularity

How well do you know the people who live around you? Are there violent criminals living in your neighbor hood? Criminal Searches.com may tell you whether you need to be worried. Many people are turning to these online type criminal searches to find out about potential dates, see what types of people live around them, etc.. Criminal Searches can be free or they can cost as much as a couple of hundred dollars.

These sites for criminal searches are jumping up all over the net and many people are concerned about the privacy concerns associated with these types of sites. There are also some questions about the accuracy of such sites, especially the free ones. So do free criminal searches on the Internet actually produced accurate results or do they produce false impressions?

I decided to check on myself and entered in my name. Well it found me and one of my speeding violations I obtained a number of years ago. Yes I have been caught speeding, but it had only one and I’ve been caught speeding several times. I also looked up someone who I know has had several drug convictions and even a breaking and entering conviction and the site produced no results.

This raises the question in my mind about how actually effective these criminal search sites are. In tow minutes I found two instances of searches that did not produce accurate results. So how many more inaccurate results are in the site’s database.

I also did some searches for the neighborhood where I live and while it produced some results, mostly traffic violations and one sexual offender, I did not recognize the names. One of the names was right across the street from where my house is. I’ve lived in this neighborhood for 14 years, since the sub division was built and no one by that name has ever lived in the house. So I’m really starting to seriously consider what CriminalSearches.com actually reports and it would appear that any results you may obtain from this site should be taken with a grain of salt and not taken seriously. But this site’s may have some merits as you may be able to find out potential information and then use that information to continue your criminal search of an individual. Many of the state law enforcement agencies within your state also keep this type of information in file and is probably much more reliable.

Welcome back!

Criminal Searches

Many of the news organizations are reporting on the recent press release by PeopleFinders and how they are opening up a new service which people can use to perform a Criminal Search on their neighbors. I’m sure the privacy advocates will come out on this one because not only will it produce results on convictions the service may also provide data about someone where they where not convicted of a crime. I’m sure we will be hearing more about Criminal Searches and this new website service in the coming days.

 

 

Criminals in Your Neighborhood? PeopleFinders.com Introduces Personal Safety Service With Launch of CriminalSearches.com

Free Criminal Search Site Equips Consumers With Up-to-Date Information on Criminals and Sex Offenders in Their Communities

SACRAMENTO, CA–(Marketwire – July 21, 2008) – PeopleFinders.com (www.peoplefinders.com), the premier online service that helps consumers quickly find and connect with anyone, anywhere, today announced the launch of CriminalSearches.com (www.criminalsearches.com). CriminalSearches.com is a free Website that provides consumers with detailed information on people with criminal histories, including sex-related offenses, violent crimes and theft. In a society where personal safety has become an important concern, CriminalSearches.com provides useful information that will help families feel secure in their neighborhoods and personal lives.

CriminalSearches.com enables consumers to make educated decisions about the people they let into their personal lives. For example, a family may decide to research a nanny or general contractor before letting that person near loved ones. Prior to buying a new house, a single woman could use the service to quickly determine how many sex offenders live in the community. The service is also useful for singles in the dating scene who want to know if their new love interest is really a perfect match. According to a recent survey conducted by PeopleFinders.com, only 4 percent of respondents have ever run a background check on somebody they met online. This lack of knowledge represents a potentially dangerous proposition when meeting someone over the Internet.

Prior to CriminalSearches.com, people could find criminal information in the public domain; however, it was typically difficult to locate and required lengthy searches in multiple locations online and offline. For example, typing in "criminal data" on Google yields more than 13 million results. Using CriminalSearches.com, consumers are provided with accurate criminal information in one convenient place free of charge.

"Unfortunately we live in a time where words like assault, robbery, rape and homicide are frequently a daily headline," said Bryce Lane, president and chief operating officer of PeopleFinders.com. "We created CriminalSearches.com to help consumers make the most educated decisions about the people they let into their personal lives and the lives of their loved ones. Nowhere else will consumers find a free, comprehensive personal safety service that matches the ease of use and accuracy of data as CriminalSearches.com. Whether on a date, renting a room, spending time with neighbors, or meeting new friends, people have the right, and now the means, to know if there is a criminal in their life."

Criminal Search — Information that Can Help Keep You Safe

CriminalSearches.com enables consumers to find information on criminals in a variety of ways — consumers can search by name, age, location or offense category. People can also search for individuals who have committed a specific type of crime in a region. For example, a user could type in "Sacramento" and "Sex Offender," and in seconds they are provided with information on criminals matching that description. Criminal offense categories include behavioral, drug and alcohol, theft, sex-related, violent, and business, among others.

Neighborhood Watch

The Neighborhood Watch feature on CriminalSearches.com allows users to quickly discover if someone with a criminal record is living in the surrounding community. Consumers simply enter a full address, or city and state, and are presented with a map identifying people in the area with criminal records. Consumers can click on the map to view detailed information about the identified criminals including name, age, current and previous addresses and complete criminal history. This information is especially useful for parents interested in educating themselves about people who may come into contact with their children.

Sex Offender Finder

The Sex Offender Finder provided on the site gives consumers the opportunity to identify sex offenders living in a specified area. Search results can include photos, physical descriptions and the last known address for people with sex-related offenses in their records.

Criminal Activity Alerts

Criminal activity alerts make it easy for users to follow the criminal history of people in their lives. Users specify the names of those they’d like to track and are alerted via email or in their CriminalSearches.com account when new information becomes available. For example, parents may want to be alerted if criminal information appears on their child’s teacher, bus driver, sports coach or daycare provider.

CriminalSearches.com is available immediately at no charge. For more information, visit www.criminalsearches.com.

About PeopleFinders.com

PeopleFinders.com is the premier online service that helps consumers quickly find and connect with anyone, anywhere. The service provides comprehensive searches including people search, background checks, criminal checks, business ownership and other public records. PeopleFinders.com is the only company that can search billions of records spanning the last 40 years, making search results more comprehensive and accurate than competitors. PeopleFinders.com was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Sacramento, California. For more information, visit www.peoplefinders.com.